Sharon's third time's a charm - well maybe

[shazdwn]

Thanks @Soukous@Kitsafari@Galana@TonyQ@Dave Williams@PeterHG@lmSA84

 

 

20 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Some nice birds there Sharon! Are the Terns defending their nest site?

It was hard to say, the behaviour didn't seem to be aggressive like a bird defending a nest. There were grown chicks all over the beach and most had left the actual nests,but you couldn't walk down the beach without disturbing something .

[shazdwn]

12/NT- Pacific Emerald-dove, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

[shazdwn]

13/NT- Welcome Swallow, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

I kept telling myself that I would get a better shot of this one, but somehow never found the time 

[shazdwn]

14/NT- Golden Whistler (Lord Howe Island ssp), Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

15/NT- Masked Booby, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

We only saw this one at a distance on an offshore island, so no close ups

 

 

[Zim Girl]

such a great picture of the baby white tern!

[pedro maia]

Great views and nice birds from Lord Howe Island, looking forward for more.

Edited February 8, 2022 by pedro maia

[xelas]

It is refreshing to see a different approach to bird photography. Something to try in the future.

[shazdwn]

9 hours ago, xelas said:

It is refreshing to see a different approach to bird photography. Something to try in the future.

Thanks, my aim this year is to try to be more creative with my photography.  I love high key and low key, and am also experimenting with slow shutter speeds (those shots are still to come).  

[shazdwn]

16/NT- Grey Ternlet, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

 

 

 

[shazdwn]

17/NT- Red-tailed Tropicbird , Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

We climbed to the top of Malabar Cliffs and from the top watched thousands of these birds circling around and coming in to land at their nests. At first I thought they were white, but look closely and you find they are actually a delicate blush pink

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I promised to show some long exposure shots. I tried a few with the tropicbirds and got just one frame that I like 

 

[shazdwn]

18/NT- Brown Noddy, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

19/NT- Black Noddy, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

[Galana]

Another fine collection.

[PeterHG]

Great pictures and a superb effort with the slow shutterspeed on the Tropicbird!

[shazdwn]

20/NT- Buff-banded Rail , Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

These birds are total skulkers where I live and any sighting is a good day birding. Not so on Lord Howe, they are everywhere, we even had one visit us for scraps at breakfast most days. These shots were taken on the lawn at our hotel.

 

 

 

[shazdwn]

21/NT- Black-winged Petrel , Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

[shazdwn]

22/NT- Ruddy Turnstone, Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

[shazdwn]

And finally, possibly the most iconic Lord Howe Island bird of all. Endemic to the Island, in the 1970's the population of this endemic species had dwindled to just 20 birds. However following a cat eradication program in the 80's and a rat eradication program in 2019 (which also removed introduced owls) the population is now over 440. So did near extinction make them wary - not at all, they were just as confiding as the rails, I even have a video of one wandering across the floor of the bar.

 

23/NT- Lord Howe Woodhen , Lord Howe Island, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

 

[shazdwn]

So that's it for Lord Howe Island. I saw and photographed most of my target species, missing only a couple of pelagics because the seas were too rough for the boat trips to run. Before I move on though a quick snap outside the Gold Coast Airport as we transited through Queenslanders on the way home. Not a great shot but not seen in Darwin.

 

24/NT- Australian Magpie, Coolangatta, Qld, Australia - Jan 22

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2022 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

Now to some local birds 

 

25/NT7 - Comb-crested Jacana, Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, NT, Australia - 5/2/2022

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

26/NT8 - Masked Lapwing, Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, NT, Australia - 5/2/2022

 

 

 

[shazdwn]

27/NT9 - Australasian Darter, Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, NT, Australia - 5/2/2022

 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

28/NT10 - Rufous-banded Honeyeater, Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, NT, Australia - 5/2/2022

 

 

[shazdwn]

29/NT11 - Red-capped Plover,  Darwin, NT, Australia - 3/2/2022